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THE 

FOUNDING OF CHARLFSTOWN 

BY THE SPRAGUES 



A GLIMPSH OH THH BEGINNING 

OF THE 
MASSACHUSETTS BAY SETTLEMENT 



BY 

HENKY H. SPRAGUE 



BOSTON 

W1LLIA,\\ B. CLARKE CO. 

191O 



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THE FOUNDING OF CHARLESTOWN 



It is substantially undisputed that Charlestown. tlie 
first permanent settlement in Massachusetts Bay, was 
founded by the three brothers, Ralph, Richard and Wil- 
liam Sprague, and that they, accompanied by three or 
four others, whose names have never been ascertained 
^^ith certainty, were the first permanent settlers of the 
plantation. Considerable question has, however, arisen, 
more especially in the later years, relative to the time of 
their arrival in New England, and, consequently, a ques- 
tion as to the actual date of the founding of Charles- 
town, whether in the year 1628 or 1629. The latter 
date has oftener been given by later writers, though in 
the early period the date was almost universally fixed as 
1628, and the Spragues were declared to have arrived 
with Gov. John Endicott in that year in the ship Abigail. 
The later writers, who have taken the ground that 
the Spragues did not come over with I'jidicott in the 
ship Abigail in the year 1628, and that the settlement 
of Charlestown was effected in the year 1620. hase their 
conclusions on the gromids ( 1 ) that the original ac- 
count of the settlement, contained with the town records, 
states that the Spragues came " at their own cost." as- 

3 



suming that Endicott was accompanied only by hired 
servants; (2) that there are in the first records of the 
town manifest errors in the earher dates recited; (3) 
that the historical account declares that the Spragues 
came in " the same summer of anno 1628," whereas 
Endicott did not himself arrive until the month of Sep- 
tember; (4) and that the first records, in naming "the 
inhabitants that first settled " in the town, included, with 
the names of the Spragues, the names of Messrs. Graves 
and Bright, and that Mr. Graves modelled and laid out 
the town, it being a fact that both Mr. Thomas Graves 
and the Rev. Francis Bright arrived in the year 1629. 

The earliest authority for the founding of Charles- 
town, to which succeeding writers generally refer, is 
the copy of the first records of the town, so-called, but 
which begin with an independent historical account of 
the settlement, compiled in the year 1664 by John Greene, 
a son of the ruling elder of the church, as gathered by 
him from those who lived at the time and were actors 
in the events related.* 

The historical account begins with the discovery of 
the region between Cape Cod and Cape Ann by Capt. 
John Smith, and runs as follows : — 

*Frothinghani's " History of Charlestown," pps. 2 & 12. The 
original records of Charlestown are now deposited with the city 
clerk of the city of Boston. In the records of Charlestown for 
the year 1664, it is recorded that " At a meeting of the Select- 
men April 18, 1654, John Greene is appointed by us to transcribe 
ye records of this Towne and having begun ye same in a booke 
as far as foUio eight most whereof is gathered by information of 
known honest men that lived & were Actors in these times * * * 
we do approve of ye same and consent that what is v/ritten on 
those seven pages remain as it is." 



" Captii John Smith haveing (in ye Raigne of or 
Soveraigne Lord James by ye Grace of God King of 
England. Scotland, ffrance. and Ireland, Defendor of 
ye (Taith,) made A discovery of some pts of America 
lighted amongst othr places upon ye opening bettwixt 
Cape Codd & Cape Ann. Scitnate & lying in 315 degrs 
of Longitude & 42 degrs 20 mints of North Latitude, 
where by Sounding & making up hee fell in amongst 
ye ilands, and advanced up into the Massachusetts Bay 
till he came up into ye River, bettweene Mishaum, 
(aftrwards called Charlestown ) and Shawmutt (aftrwds 
called Boston,) & having made discovery of the land, 
Rivrs Coves and Creekes in the sd Bay, & also taken 
some observations of the natures, dispositions, & sundry 
Customes of the numerous India [ns] or Natives inhabit- 
ing the same; hee returned to England. \vher[e] (it was 
reported yt) upon his Arrivall hee prsented A mapp 
of the Massachusetts Bay to ye king, & yt the Prince 
(aftv.ards King Charles ye first,) upon enquiery & per- 
usall of the aforesd River & the Scituation thereof upon 
the Mapp. appointed it to bee called Charles River. 

" Now. upon the ffame yt then went abroad of the 
place both in England & Holland, severlt persons of 
quality sent over so[me] at theire owne cost who planted 
this Country in severity but for want of judgmt care. 
& ordrly living, divers dye[ing] othrs meeting with 
many hazzards. hardships. & wants at length being re- 
duced to great penury. & extreamity : were so tired out, 
yt they tooke all opertunities of returning to England, 

5 



upon wch sevelt places were altogethr diserted, & s[o] 
only some few yt upon A bettr principle transported 
themselves from England & Holland, came & settled 
theire Pl[an]tation A little within Cape Cod, & called 
the same Plymouth, [these] notwithstanding all theire 
wants, hazzards, & sufferings, con[tinu]ed severlt yeares 
in A mannr alone, at wch time this Contry was gen- 
erally called by the name of New England. 

" At length divers Gentlemen, & Merchants of London 
obtained A Pattent & Charter for the Massachusetts Bay, 
(from or Soveraigne Lord King Charles ye f^rst) gave 
Invitation to [such] as would (transport themselves 
from Old England to New England) to goe and possesse 
the same: and for theire incourag[ement] the sd Pat- 
tentees at theire owne Cost sent over A Company [of] 
servts, undr the Governement of Mr. John Endicutt who 
arri[ved] within this Bay, settled ye first Plantation of 
this Jurisd[iction] called Salem: undr whose wing 
there were A few also yt [did] settle & plant up & 
downe scatterring in severlt places of ye Bay: where, 
tho they mett with the dangers difficuhies, & [ ] 

attending new Plantations in A sollitary wildernesse so 
ffa[rre] remote from theire Native Country, yett were 
they nott l[eft] without Company; for in the yeare of 
or Lord one thousand sixe hundred twenty eight, came 
over from England severlt people at their owne charge, 
& arrived at Sa[lem;] aftr wch, people came over yearely 
in great numbers; in [some] yeares many hundreds 
afrived, & settled not only in [the] Massachusetts Bay : 

6 



but did suddenly spread thenisel[ves] into otlir Collonies 
also. 

" Amongst others yt Arrived at Salem at their owne 
cost, were Ralph Sprague with his Brethren Richard 
& William, who with three or foure more, by Joint con- 
sent & approbation of Mr. John Endicutt Governor did 
the same Sun.mer of Anno 1628, undertake A Journy 
from Salem and travelled the Woods above twelve miles 
to the westward, & lighted of A place Scituate and lying 
on the north side of Charles River full of Indians called 
Aberginians theire old Sachem being dead, his eldest 
Sonne by the English called John Sagamore, was theire 
chief e, & A man naturally of A gentle & good disposi- 
tion, by whose free consent they settled alxnit the hill 
of ye same place, by the said Xatives called Mishawum, 
where they found but one English pallisadoed & thatched 
house, wherein lived Tho Walford A Smith, Scituate 
on the south end of the westermost hill of the Eastfield 
A little way up from Charles Rivers side, and upon 
Survey they found it was A necke of Laud Generally 
full of Stately timber as was the maine, & the land lying 
on the east side of the river called Mistick River, from 
the farme Mr. Craddocks servts had planted called 
Mistick. well this Rivr led up unto, and indeed generally 
all the country round About was an uncooth Wildernesse 
full of timber. 

"The inhabitants yt : first settled in this place &' 
brought it into the denomination of An English Towne 
uns in .Xnno 1628 as folios, vizt. 

7 



Ralph Sprague, Mr. Graves who had charge 
Richd. Sprague, of some of the servts. of the 
WilHam Sprague, Company of Patentees with whom 
John Meech, hee built the great house this 
Simon Hoyte, yeare for such of the sd Com- 
Abra. Palmer, pany as are shortly to come over 
Walter Pamer, v/ch aftrwards became the Meet- 
Nicholas Stowers, ing house. 
John Stickline, 
Tho. Walford, Smith, 

yt. lived heere 

alone before. 
And Mr. Bright Minister to the Companies Servants. 

" By whom it was Jointly agreed & concluded yt this 
place on the North side of Charles River by the Natives 
called Mishawiim, shall henceforth from the name of 
the River bee called Charlestowne wch was also con- 
firmed by Mr. John Endicutt, governour. 

" It is jointly agreed & concluded by the Inhabitants 

of this Towne yt Mr. Graves doe moddle, & lay 

out the forme of the Towne with Streets about the Hill 
wch was accordingly done and approoved of by the Gov- 
ernor. 

" It is Jointly agreed & concluded, yt each Inhabitant 
have A two Acre Lott to plant upon, & all to ffence in 

Common wch was acordingly by Mr. Graves 

measured out unto them. 

" Upon which Ralph Sprague & othrs began to build 
theire houses, & to prpare ffenceing for theire lotts wch 
was aftrwrds sett up almost in A Semi-Circular forme 
on the South and SouthEast side of yt field laid out to 
them, wch lies Scituate on ye Northwest side of the 
Towne Hill. 



" Walter Pamcr & one or two more, shortly aftr began 
to build in A Straight line upon theire two Acre Lotts 
on the Eastside of the Towne Mill & sett up a slight fFence 
in Common yt ranne up to Tho. Wal fords fence, iS: 
this was the beginning i)f ye Iiastfield."* 

In accordance with this account it lias been related 
i)y the earlier writers that the Spragues came over in 
the ship Abigail w ith Governor Endicott in the year 1628, 
and made their journey from Salem to Charlestown in 
the latter part of that year, and that the year 1628 is the 
date of the foundation of the town. 

The first, or among the first, in later periods, so far 
as ascertained, to suggest a definite doubt as to the com- 
ing of the Spragues with Gov. Endicott, was Edward 
Everett in an address delivered in Charlestown on June 
28, 1830, on the anniversary of the arrival of Gov. 
Winthrop.f 

Mr. Everett, in quoting from the account above given, 
says that the foundation of the town of Charlestown 
was laid in the same year, 1628. in which Gov. Endicott 
arrived, under the patronage of the governor, but not, 
as he apprehends, by any of the members of Endicott's 
own party. " It is well known." he says, *' that Ralph. 
William and Richard Sprague. in the course of the sum- 
mer of 1628, traversed the country between Salem and 
Charles River, and made a settlement at Charlestown ; 

*Thc remainder of the Greene narrative will be found in the 
.•\ppcndix. 

t-^ddrcss on " The Settlement of Massachusetts," delivered at 
Charlestown on June 28, 1830. 



and it is commonly supposed, that, as they came from 
Salem with Governor Endicott's consent, they were of 
the company which he brought over." Mr. Everett then 
adds, referring to the passage in the above account, which 
states that " among those who arrived at Salem at their 
own cost " were the Spragues, " This message seems to 
establish the fact that the three Spragues, the founders 
of the settlement in this place, were not members of 
Governor Endicott's company, but independent adven- 
turers, who came over to Salem at their own cost." 

Mr. Everett, though maintaining that the town of 
Charlestown was founded by the Spragues in the year 
1628, seems to be influenced in his belief that they did 
not come over in the ship with Endicott, chiefly by the 
statement in the historical account that the Spragues 
came " at their own cost," apparently assuming that all 
who came with Endicott were hired to accompany him, 
and this statement has also been looked upon by others 
succeeding him to indicate that the Spragues did not 
accompany Endicott. If Mr. Everett's surmise is cor- 
rect, the Spragues came over and arrived in Salem proba- 
bly before Endicott's arrival in September 1828. It is by 
no means impossible, though hardly probable, that they 
had arrived in a previous year, or prior in the year 1628 
to Endicott's coming. 

The fact is not always fully appreciated that for many 
years prior to this time, and especially in the period from 
1620 to 1628, the visitors to these shores, who came more 
or less with the intention of making a settlement, were 

10 



frequent. Large numbers of ships, sometimes as many 
as fifty or sixty sail in a year, came over from England 
and France to fish, and ships sailing to and from the 
Virginia plantation called frc(iiienlly <jn their way and 
left or took passengers. In addition to the settlement of 
Plymouth there were the repeated attempts of Gorges 
to eflfect a settlement under the charter accpiired by him 
covering considerable portions of New England; settle- 
ment was made and continued for a period of a year 
or two by Weston in Weymouth; there was the estab- 
lishment of Thomas Morton and his companions at 
Mount W'ollaston; and there were the fishing settle- 
ments at Cape Ann, and on the Piscataqua River and 
in Casco Bay. Bradford, under his Annals of the year 
1628, says, " sundrie of ye cheefe of ye stragling planta- 
tions meeting together " called upon Plymouth to join 
with them in suppressing Morton and his consorts at 
Merrymount, and he says that those who joined in this 
action "were from Pascateway, Namkeake. W'inisimett. 
Weesagaquscett, Natasco and otlier places where the 

English were seated."* 

John Oldham and John Lyford. after their removal 
from Plymouth, endeavored to establish the settlement 
at Xantasket, and were there joined by Roger Conant 
and others, who all reiuoved to Cape Ann in the year 
1624 or 1625. It was in the succeeding year, 1626. that 
Conant, with a few followers, came to Salem, where he 
remained, gaining some accessions and losing others of 

•Bradford's History of " Plimoth Plantation." published by the 
State, manuscript page 161. 

1 1 



his followers, but under the insistance and promises of 
Rev. John White of Dorchester, in England, continuing 
the plantation until the arrival of Endicott. 

The arrival of the Spragues and their presence at 
Salem before the coming of Endicott could easily be 
conceived, thought it is more probable that they arrived 
with him on the ship Abigail. 

(1) It is contended that Endicott was accompanied 
by hired servants, while the Spragues came at their own 
cost. 

The Greene narrative states that the Massachusetts 
Company invited such as would transport themselves to 
New England to go and possess the same; and for their 
encouragement the patentees at their own cost sent over 
a company of servants under the government of Mr. 
John Endicott, that is, Endicott's company constituted 
both of those, who, under the invitation, paid for their 
own transportation, and hired servants engaged to assist 
them. 

The narrative adds that under his wing there were a 
few also who settle up and down in several places of 
the Bay, yet were not long without company, for in the 
year 1628 several people came over at their own charge 
and arrived at Salem, after which people came over 
yearly in great numbers. This reference to the few 
who settle (or, more correctly, had settled) in several 
places of the Bay, ma)' be to those like Walford in Mish- 
awum, Blackstone in Shawmut and Samuel Maverick on 

12 



Noddles Island, and perhaps also to Conant and the small 
number whom he found at Salem, who all perforce be- 
came subject to direction of Endicott as governor. 

Continuing. Greene writes that among those tliat 
arrived at Salem at their own cost were the three 
Spragues, who in the same summer of 1628, with three 
or four others, under the approbation of Endicott, jour- 
neyed to Mishawum. 

It is undoubtedly true that the Spragues came at their 
own charge. They were, though young, men possessed 
of considerable property and of prominence, as is con- 
firmed by their after career. 

While a portion of those who came with I'^ndicott 
were hired servants, there were certainly in the company 
others of prominence who came at their own charge 
to establish themselves in the new colony. The records 
containing the names of those who came over with 
Endicott were lost at an early perio<J. Felt says that 
" among the emigrants who came in the Abigail were 
Richard Brackenbury. Richard Davenport. Charles Gott, 
Ralph, Richard and William Sprague and William 
Trask. Their motives were various. Some of them were 
mainly actuated by desires for religious liberty, and 
others by hopes of gain."* 

William Hubbard, in his narrative, says. '* With Mr. 
Endicot. in the year 1628. came Mr. Gotte, Mr. Braken- 
berry. Mr. Davenport and others, who. being added to 

•Felt's Annals of Salem, 2d Ed Vol. 1. p 44. See also Felt's 
Ecclesiastical Hist, of N*. E 

13 



Capt. Trask and John Woodberry * * * went on com- 
fortably together to make preparation for the new Colony 
that were coming over."* 

Brackenberry, in a Deposition! made in the year 1680, 
says that he came over to New England with Endicott, 
arriving at Salem on Sept. 6, 1 628, where they found liv- 
ing Conant and others, naming seven of them, but not 
mentioning the Spragues, though none, except Conant 
and perhaps John Woodbury, were as well known as 
the Spragues, who would naturally have been named hkd 
they been at Salem when Endicott arrived. 

Hutchinson says " Mr. Endicott, one of the original 
patentees, was sent over to Naumkeag with planters 
and servants." He further says, in a note to the state- 
ment that " A second embarkation of planters and ser- 
vants had been determined at a meeting [of the Mass. 
Co.] April 30, [1628?] to be made with all speed,"| 
that " Mr. Endicot sent three brethren, Ralph, Richard 
and William Sprague to explore the country west- 
wards. * * * These first travellers [to Mishawum] with 
the consent of the Indians, took up their abode there." 

Johnson, in his Wonder-Working Providence, says 
those who came with " Mr. John Indecat " in 1628 were 
a " mixt multitude," and added later that in the scarcity 
of food the servants took so much of their masters' 

tEssex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. 13, p. 138. 

*Wm. Hubbard's Narrative of the Discovery and First Planting 
of the Massachusetts, printed in Young's Chronicles, p. 17, and 
found in Hubbard's Hist, of N. E. p. 109. He came over in 1635. 

^Hutchinson's Hist, of Mass. 1628-1750, Vol. 1, p. 16 et seq. 

14 



provisions that " they that came over their own men 
had but httle left to feed upon."* 

The Planters' Plea, written probably by Rev. John 
White, and printed in London early in the year 1630, says 
" Master Endecott was sent over Governor, assisted 
with a few men, and arriving in safety there in Septem- 
ber, 1628, and uniting his own men with those which 
were formerly planted in the country into one body, they 
made up in all not much above fifty or sixty persons."! 

There were men who accompanied Endicott who were 
certainly not hired servants. 

(2) It has been pointed out that there is, as is evi- 
dent, in the first records some confusion in the dates 
of years prior to the year 1632, and therefore it is 
contended that there was an error in the narrative in 
placing the journey of the Spragues to Salem in the 
year 1628 instead of 1629. 

It is to be considered that dates were at the time reck- 
oned under the old style, so that, for instance, the year 
1628, as then referred to, was the year beginning, as 
now reckoned, on March 25, 1628, and ending on March 
25, 1629, and this may in a measure explain or excuse 
mistakes which were not infrequently made in the men- 
tion of successive years. 

•VVondcr-Working Providence. 1654. Pooles Ed. pps. 19-20. 
Edward Johnson came over in W'inthrop's company in 1630, and 
became a freeman in 1631. 

tPubiished in Young's Chronicles of the First Planters of the 
First Colony in Massachusetts Bay, p. 13. 

15 



The narrative states that in the year 1628 several peo- 
ple arrived at Salem at their own cost, after which peo- 
ple came over yearly in great numbers. This reference 
to the several people who arrived at Salem at their own 
cost must be to the few who accompanied Endicott and 
the hired servants on the Abigail, it could not be to the 
seven shiploads dispatched by the Massachusetts Bay 
Company in the year 1629, numbering probably about 
three hundred. 

The date 1628, the first given in the narrative, there- 
fore is certainly correct. The narrative puts the 
Spragues among those who arrived at Salem at their 
own cost, that is, in the year 1628. Then it says in 
the same summer, 1628, the Spragues journeyed to 
Charlestown. Whatever were subsequent errors in 
dates, the placing of the journey of the Spragues to 
Charlestown in the year 1628 is confirmed by the se- 
quence of events. 

(3) The narrative states that in "the same Summer 
of Anno 1628," by consent of Governor Endicott the 
Spragues with three or four others undertook the jour- 
ney from Salem to Charlestown. 

Governor Endicott had sailed from Weymouth in 
England on June 26, 1628, and arrived at Salem on 
September 6. The same " summer " as of Endicott's 
coming used in this connection was naturally the summer 
or season of 1628, and the narrative, independent of the 
date, must be taken to declare that the journey of the 

i6 



Spragues was made in the same year as of the arrival 
at Salem and could not refer to the succeeding year. 
It is curious to note that Hutchinson, speaking of the 
purchase of the territory from the Plymouth Council 
in 1628, says that in "the same summer" Mr. Endicott 
*' was sent over to Xaumkeag with planters and ser- 
vants."* Charles M. Endicott, in his Memoir of John 
Endicott, also says, ** there was come over, in the latter 
end of the summer before, a very worthy gentleman, 
Mr. John Endicott by name, and some others w ith him, 
to make some preparation for the rest."t Both use the 
word "summer" as the season of 1628. 

It was not only natural but it seems certain that Endi- 
cott would have made provision for investigating the 
situation of affairs in Massachusetts Bay directly upon 
his arrival, and would not have neglected such action 
until the following " summer " of 1629. 

I->rdinand Gorges, who was originally of the Ply- 
mouth Company, had alone and with others, beginning as 
early as the year 1607. repeatedly dispatched ships to 
Xew I-jigland "to trade, fish and discover." and had 
made attempts to colonize settlements under claims of 
Charter rights which embraced Massachusetts Bay. In 
the year 1623 the Plymouth Council for New luigland 
granted to his son, Capt. Robert Ciorges. the shores and 
coasts for a distance of about ten nnles which included 
the territory subsequently known as Charlestown. Robert 

•Hutchinson History of Xew England, 3rd Exl.. \'ol. 1. page 16. 

tC. M. Endicott's Memoir of John Endicott. 

17 



Gorges dying soon after making an attempt to establish 
a colony, his rights descended to his brother John, who 
made release of the territory between the Charles and 
Saugus Rivers to John Oldham and John Dorrell. Old- 
ham had quarrelled with the people at Plymouth and had 
sought to draw away some of his adherents at first to 
Nantasket and the Cape Ann settlement in connection 
with Roger Conant, but later to his own schemes. He 
was indeed sailing to England in the year 1628 to fur- 
ther his plan at the very same time that Endicott was 
crossing the sea on his way to Salem. 

The company of New Plymouth had, under the in- 
fluence of Rev. John White, a distinguished Puritan min- 
ister of Dorchester in Dorsetshire, sent emigrants, largely 
from Dorchester, to establish a colony at Cape Ann, in the 
year 1624, and a year or two later these had been joined 
by some from the Plymouth Colony who leaned towards 
the Church of England, among whom w^ere Roger Conant 
and also Oldham, who, however, was soon cast off. The 
Cape Ann Colony quickly broke up, and Conant in the 
year 1626 removed, with the few who were left, to 
Naumkeag, or Salem, where they were induced by Mr. 
White to remain on the promise of his procuring a patent 
and sundry supplies and a company to join them. It 
was this small company which, under Conant, was at 
Salem and received Endicott on his arrival in the Abigail 
in the year 1628. 

Massachusetts Bay, as the region beyond Salem and 
about the Charles River was designated, had long been 

i8 



regarded as an especially attractive point for establishing 
a permanent settlement and was particularly desired by 
the Massachusetts Company. The designs of the Gorges 
and of their grantee or agent. Oldham, were well known 
to the Massachusetts Company and to l^ndicott, who had 
been hurried across the ocean to establish the company's 
claims and rights. On March \^, 1628, before Endicott 
sailed, the Plymouth Council had sold t(j the Massachu- 
setts Company the territory including Massachusetts 
Bay. extending from three miles southward of the 
Charles to three miles northward of the Merrimac. a 
grant which was confirmed to the company by charter 
on March 4. 1629. 

It seems certain that Ivndicott would, in the year of 
his arrival, have taken immediate measures to establish 
possession of the disputed but desired region. It was 
under these circumstances that the Spragucs with three 
or four others by joint consent and approbation of Gov- 
ernor Endicott xmdertook the journey to the westward 
to a place on the north side of the Charles, and "settled 
about a hill of the same place." 

The Massachusetts Company having obtained on 
March 4, 1629, a charter in confirmation of its Ply- 
mouth purchase, contracted on March 10. 1629, with 
Thomas Graves, an engineer, to come over, and in .\|)ril 
and May dispatched ships with about three hundred emi- 
grants to join Endicott's company. They brought from 
the company a letter to Endicott. dated April 17. 1629. 
warning him against the attempts of Oldham and urging 

19 



him " to fettle an Agreement with the old Planters foe 
as they may not harken to Mr. Oldham's dangerous 
though vaine Propofitions."* " And becaufe wee would 
not omitt to doe any Thinge which might ftrengthen 
our Right, wee would haue you (as foone as thefe 
Shipps, or any of them arrive with you, wherby you may 
have Men to do it, fend 40 or 50 Perfons to Mattachu- 
fetts-Bay to inhabite there, which wee pray you not 
to protract, but to doe it with all Speede; and if any of 
our Company in particular fhall defire to fettle them- 
felues there, or to fend Servants thither, wee defire all 
Accomodacon and Encouragement may be given them 
therevnto, wherby the better to Strengthen our Poffef- 
fion there againft all or any that fhall intrude vpon vs, 
which wee would not have you by any Meanes to give 
Way vnto." The governor was further ordered to con- 
sult with Mr. Graves as to the settlement. 

It is certainly not possible to believe that the Spragues 
came over in company wnth this large number in the year 
1629, and that subsequently the governor gave his joint 
consent and approbation to them and three or four others 
only to travel to the westward twelve miles through 
the woods to the north side of Charles River. Graves 
arrived among the earlier ones at the end of June or 
first of July in the year 1629, and straightway proceeded 
with a considerable company to strengthen the settle- 
ment already made in Charlestown. 

♦Hazard, p. 259. 

20 



Felt,* referring to Endicott having in 1628 commis- 
sioned the Spragues " to make a settlement at Mishawum. 
afterwards Charlestown," says " A main object of this 
movement is that such territory may be kept from those 
who claim it as part of the patent allowed to Robert 
Gorges, deceased, but contained in the Massachusetts 
grant. At this very time John Oldham is in London to 
have it held as jurisdiction independent of the latter." 
And later (p. 113) he adds, " Xear this time [June 27, 
1629.] Mr. Graves and a considerable number of the late 
emigrants go to strengthen the settlers at Charlestown and 
thus throw greater impediments in the way of its being 
occupied and retained by Mr. Oldham." 

Rev. Mr. Higginson. who came with the company 
in the year 1629, .soon after his arrival wrote a letter abmit 
July 24, 1629, within the first month of his arrival, in 
which he says there are in all " ould and new planters, 
300, wh' of 200 are settled at Xaimkecke. & the rest plant 
themselves at Mass. bay being to build a towne there 
called Charleston or Charlestown." 

(4) The narrative included, with the Spragues, 
among " the inhabitants that first .settled " in the town. 
the names of Messrs. Graves and I>right, who certainly 
arrived in the year 1629. 

It must l^e evident that in naming those who " first " 
settled in the place, it was not to be understood that they 
all came to the town together at the same time, cither 
in the year 1628 or 1629. The names given were of 

•Kelt's "The Kcclcsiastical History of New England." p. 100. 

21 



those who were regarded as first settlers and who agreed 
that Graves should lay out the town and make allotment 
of lands. Walford was, as is known, living there alone 
prior to the year 1628. It is also significant that the 
Spragues are first named, and that the names of Graves, 
the selected agent of the company, and of Mr. Bright, 
the minister who came at the same time with Graves, 
are the last in the list, and are placed apart from the 
others. The larger number who certainly accompanied 
Graves and Bright are not named. 

Yet a principal stress for their contention has been 
laid upon this list by those who have contended that 
the journey of the Spragues must have been made in the 
year 1629, and that they came over in the same year with 
Graves and Bright. It would rather seem to be true, 
as Frothingham conjectures, that " They, [the Spragues] 
with their companions, may have arrived here in the sum- 
mer or fall of 1628, and encouraged by the friendly 
reception they met wnth from the Indians, and a desire of 
the company (that may have been already known to them) 
to take immediate possession of the country, have here 
built their tents, and remained through the winter of 
1628-9."* In the follow^ing year the Spragues w^ere 
joined by Graves, Bright and others, and the building of 
houses was begun. 

*Frothingham's " History of Charlestown," p. 14. In his Memoirs 
republished in Young's Chronicles, Capt. Roger Clap, who came 
over in an independent company about a month prior to Win- 
throp's arrival in 1630, related that on landing at Charlestown he 
found there " some wigwams and one house," and some few 
English " who were very destitute when we came ashore." 

22 



There is no further direct evidence that the Spragues 
came in the ship with Kndicott. It might not seem 
improbable, as conchided by Mr. Everett, that they were 
already in Salem when Endicott arrived. The com- 
panions of Conant at Cape Ann and who preceded 
Endicott at Salem were largely moved to their emigra- 
tion by John White, the Dorchester minister, and the 
Conant Company is referred to as the " Dorchester 
adventurers." The Spragues, before leaving England, 
lived at Upwey in Dorsetshire, a small hamlet situated 
midway between Dorchester and Weymouth, the sea- 
port, and but a few miles from eitlier tuwn. 

On the other hand the company of Endicott was, as 
narrated, made up frimi Dorset people, largely from 
Dorchester and Weymouth, from which port he sailed. 
The list of the ship's company was unfortunately lost. 
The names of the more prominent of those who came 
with the large emigration of the succeeding year are 
repeatedly mentioned, not only in the company's letters, 
but otherwise, but no mention is made of the Spragues 
as being of those companies, as would naturally have 
been the ca.se, not only on account of their former posi- 
tion but especially in view of their immediate prominence 
in the founding of Charlestown. 

Young has been especially (juoted as an authority for 
the contention that the Spragues did not accompany 
Endicott in the year l^JX. because in a note referring to 
the statement in Mubbard's narrative, that " with Mr. 
Endicott in the year 1628 came Mr. Gottc, Mr. Brakcn- 

23 



bury, Mr. Davenport and others," he says " the omission 
here of the names of the Spragues, Ralph, Richard and 
Wilham, invahdates the assertion of Fek that they were 
among the emigrants who came in the Abigail with 
Endicott, and conforms to the construction put by Gov. 
Everett on the statement that ' they arrived at Salem 
at their own charge,' that is as ' independant adventurers,' 
not members of Gov. Endicott's Company."* Young 
loses sight of the fact that Hubbard mentions the three 
" with others " who came in the Abigail, and of the 
further fact that the omission of the names of the 
Spragues as among those who were already in Salem 
on his arrival, or as among those who came in the 
succeeding year, would much more tend to show that 
they did not come over either before or after Endicott's 
arrival. 

Young himself implies a doubt of his position when 
he says subsecjuently of Thomas Graves [p. 152, note,] 
"he pitched on Mishawum (now Charlestown) where 
he found Walford, the smith, and perhaps the Spragues, 
unless, as is more probable, they were of the 100 Avho 
came with him " ; and also [p. 387, note] in regard to 
the errors in chronology in the Charlestown records, 
" It may be that the error extends also to the arrival 
of the Spragues, and that they did not come to Charles- 
town till 1629." 

The statement of Greene that the Spragues estab- 
lished the settlement of Charlestown in the year 1628, 

*Young's Chronicles (1846), p. 31. 

24 



and the inference to be deduced from his narrative that 
they came over with Governor Endicott, are not only 
the conclusions naturally following from the contem- 
porary accounts, but they are supported generally by 
the earlier and best authorities. Prince, in his history 
of New England (1736), names the Spragues as among 
those who arrived with Endicott and adopts the Greene 
account ; and this is, as stated, likewise adopted by Pelt 
in his Annals of Salem, who, after considerable investi- 
gation, concluded that the Spragues came in Endicotl's 
company. Bradford, in his History of Massachusetts 
(18J5), savs they came v.ilh I'jidicolt and soon removed 
to Charlestown. I>iuliii.sj:ton. in his History of the I'irst 
Church of Charlestown. which is aKso prepared with much 
care and research, gives a like narrative, and Dr. Josi.ih 
Barllett in ** An Historical Sketch of Charlestown." 
published in 1814. and Snow, in his early History of 
Boston published in 1825, are in agreement with these 
conclusions. 

The deductions which have been made to show that 
the Spragues came over in the year 1629 and that their 
arrival in Charlestown was in that year arc, as have been 
shown, not sustained, but the facts cited, upon which these 
deductions arc made, are nt)t only not conclusive but in 
certain respects tend to confirm the contrary cojiclusions. 
It is therefore safe to hold that the pioneer journey of 
the Spragues for the settlement of Charlestown was made 
in the latter part of the year 1628. and that the year 
1628 is the true date of the founding of the town and 

25 



of the first settlement effected by the Massachusetts 
Company in Massachusetts Bay and in the present limits 
of the city of Boston. Inasmuch as Governor Winthrop, 
on his arrival in the year 1630, directly left Salem to 
join the settlement already established under auspices 
of the Massachusetts Bay Company at Charlestown,* 
but, having determined that the better place for the 
permanent capital of the Bay was across the river in 
Shawmut, removed the first church and many of the 
inhabitants to that place, the first settlers of Mishawum 
may be said historically to be the real founders of the 
first settlement in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and 
of the capital at Boston, in the year 1628. 

Johnson, in " Wonder- Working Providence," 1654, 
( Pooles Ed. 1867, p. 389), speaking of the coming of 
Winthrop and his company to Charlestown in 1630, said, 
" although they did afford plenty yet for present they 
could find but one Spring and that not become at x x 
which caused many to passe over to the South-Side of 
the River," where, in October, the Court and Assistants 
held their session and " where they then began to build, 
holding correspondency with Charles Towne as one and 
the same." 

The names of Ralph, Richard and William Sprague 

stand at the head of the list of settlers named in the 

*Frothingham in History of Charlestown, p. 9, says, " The terri- 
tory known as Massachusetts was in the early days of the Colony, 
confined to the region about Boston harbor from Nahant to Point 
Alderton," this being taken from Savage's Winthrop, Vol. 2, p. 2. 
Gov. Winthrop, in his Journal, writes after his arrival at Salem 
in an entry dated June 17 (1630), "We went to Mattachusetts 
(Charlestown) to find out a place for our sitting down." 

26 



record of the first meeting uf the inhabitants of the 
town in the year 1629. They were respectively the first, 
the third, and the fifth and youngest of the sons of 
Edward Sprague. a fuller of Upwey in the County of 
Dorset. ICdward Sprague's will, which was proved in 
the year 1614. begins, after bequeathing his soul to 
Almighty God, his Saviour and redeemer, and his bodv 
to be buried within the church yard, with legacies to 
the parish church of Upwey and to the poor of the 
parish, and contains bequests to all his five children. 
The inventory of his estate shows that he was pos- 
sessed of considerable property, and his old fulling mill 
still stands in Upwey. 

The three brothers were all young. Ralph Sprague, 
the eldest child, being about 25 years of age upon their 
arrival at Salem in the year 1628. 

Ralph Sprague. with his brother Richard (William 
being then a minor), took the oath as freeman in the 
year 1630, and Ralph was made in that year the first 
constable of the town. Ralph and Richard are men- 
tioned among " some of the chief " of the 151 members, 
who had in 1632 joined in full communion with the 
Charlestown church when it was separately organized. 
Their names are given in the church records as. — "Ralph. 
Jone (Joan). Sprague"; " Richard. Mary, Sprague,"' the 
names of husband and wife being written as one name. 
Until this time they were members of the first church of 
the Bay. which was transferred from Charlc^-'-'^Mi »<. 
Boston by Winthrop in the year 1630. 

27 



In the agreement which was entered into on February 
10, 1634, for the first government of the town by a 
body of selectmen, are appended thirty-three names, 
among which are those of Richard and William Sprague, 
and Ralph Sprague is named as one of those therein 
appointed to administer the town's affairs.* Ralph was 
for several years subsequently a selectman, and for 
nine years represented the town as its deputy to the 
General Court. He was captain of the Charlestown 
train-band, and with his brother Richard became a mem- 
ber of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 
the 3^ear 1638, which company received its charter in 
that year and was composed of members from the differ- 
ent towns of the colony. The General Court in the 
year 1639 granted him 100 acres of land, significantly 
adding as the reason of its vote, " haveing borne diffi- 
culties in the beginning." He died in the year 1651, 
intestate, leaving several children, his son Richard being 
a leading citizen. Frothingham says (page 21) "He 
was a prominent and valuable citizen — active in pro- 
moting the welfare of the colony." He left many par- 
cels of real property, and his estate was appraised at 
£649/10, and the further sum of £92/14. 

Richard Sprague was a merchant and ship owner, 
and for a time apparently a sea-captain. He served the 
town for several years as selectman, and was a deputy 

'•'This remarkable agreement, one of the first efforts for the 
establishment of town government, will be found in the Appendix. 

28 



to the General Court in the year 1644. and from the 
year 1659 to the year 1666. He was a captain of the 
Charlestmvn train-band, and also a lientenant of the An- 
cient and Honorable Artillery Gjmpany. He died in the 
year 166S, lca\in,»^ real estate, vessels and other property 
inventoried in all at £2397-16-8. He was under the 
pastorate of John Harvard, and by his will he be- 
(|ueathed to Harvard College " thirty ewe sheep and 
thirty lambs." He also bequeathed property of the value 
of £30 to the Charlestown Church. He gave his sword 
to his brother William, and it long remained in that 
branch of the family. 

Richard seems to have had a libei'al tendency in relig- 
i(nis matters, and v. as at one time an adherent of I\ev. 
Mr. Wheelwright, the brother of Ann Hutchinson, but 
under discipline of the church seems, with others, to 
have been forgiven on the expression of his regret for 
his action. 

William Sprague, the youngest of the brothers, lived 
in Charlestown until the year 1636, his name being men- 
tioned among the inhabitants at the beginning of that 
year. He married Millesaint or Millecent Rames, daugh- 
ter of Anthony Kames, an early settler of the town, 
prior to the year 1636. as she is mentioned as being ad- 
Tuitted under the name of Sprague to communion with 
the Charlestown Church in the year 1635. It is nar- 
rated in the records that he visited Hingham in a boat 
in the year 1629; and in the year 1636 he and his father- 

29 



in-law obtained grants of land and removed to that town, 
where he continued to live, having eleven children, and 
filling the position of selectman and other important 
town offices, until his death in the year 1675. His eldest 
son, Anthon3% married Elizabeth Bartlett, a granddaugh- 
ter of Richard Warren, one of the passengers on the 
Mayflo-cvcr, and was a selectman and a leading citizen 
of Hingham. . 

Richard Sprague, the son of Ralph Sprague, was born 
in England, and became, like his father, one of the lead- 
ing men of the town. He was a first sergeant of the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company and a captain 
of the Charlestown train-band. He marched with his 
company into Boston on the memorable 18th of April, 
1689, and assisted in the revolution against Andros. He 
was made one of the " Council for the safety of the 
people and conservation of the peace,"* which was esta- 
lished for the provisional government of the colony; but 
when the convention of the colony, subsequently chosen, 
besides taking temporary measures for the public safety, 
assumed to institute a new government without the sanc- 
tion of the crown, he, with other leading citizens, pro- 
tested and appealed to their majesties, William and 
Mary, believing the action of the convention unconsti- 
tutional and contrary to their oaths of allegiance. He 
was thereupon deprived of his captaincy, expelled from 
the House of Representatives for " his contemptuous 

*Hiitch!nson's History of Massachusetts, 3rd Ed. Vol. 1, p. 340. 

30 



carriage against the government." and arraigned before 
the court for " seditious hbel." He was, however, ac- 
• luitted of this charge. On the granting of the new char- 
ter ill the year 16Q2. he was continued in the office of 
selectman which he had hfld for several years, and was 
elected to represent the town in the General Court until 
his death. 

He was also a sea captain and commanded an armed 
vessel of twelve guns, which, in the year 1674. cruised in 
Long Island Sound, in the Dutch war, so-called.* He 
died in the year 1703 and left an estate ai)ijraised at 
£3901. He bequeathed £400 t-) Harvard College, and 
made many bequests to the John Harvard Clnuch, the 
])oor and the luinistry. 

I'Vothingham (page 203), in a note, cites, as an in- 
stance of the expense attending funerals, that of Richard 
Sprague in 1703. "Among tlie charges, there were 
for gloves, £68. 12s: and gloves for Bess, negro, 2s 6d : 
for gloves and hat bands, £3. 2s: for black serge and 
crape, £2. 16s: for crape to cover the leading stafT, hal- 
berts, &c., 14s Id: for rings, £41. 6s Id: for wine, 
£15.10d. Total, £147.16s." 

Regarding the same funeral. Sewall writes in his 
Diary, — "October 1 .\ 1 703. (\'ipt. Riclhird .Sjirague is 
buried. Mr. Russell, (apt. I layman, C:\\){. DeKher, Mr. 
Leverett, Capt. Cary, Caj)!. i-'owl, bearers. Is buried 
in Mr. Morton's tomb. I was there. Most of the 
•Sec also Felt's .Xnnals of Salem. 2d Ed. \oI 2. pps. 238-9, 636. 



3» 



scholars, Joseph for one. My gloves were too little. I 
gave them him. Governor there." 

Mr. Everett, in his oration at Charlestown, says that 
the three Spragties, " the founders of the settlement in 
this place," " were persons of character, substance and 
enterprise ; excellent citizens, generous public benefactors, 
and the heads of a very large and respectable family 
of descendants." 



32 



APPIIXDIX. 

GRi-:i-:xi-;s iiisiokical xakratix'!-:. 

The concluding portion of (ircene's Historical Xarra- 
tivc, continued from page nine is as follows: 

*' About the middle of April & May in ye years of o'r 
Lord i62() There was A great dcsigne of the Indians 
from the Narragansetts call round about us to the East- 
ward in all pts. to cutt off ye English wch. John Sag- 
amore (who allwaies loved the English) revealed to 
the Inhabitants of this Tuwnc but tlieire dcsigne was 
chiefly laid agst. Plymouth (not regarding o'r paucity 
in the Bay) to be elTected undr prtence of haveing some 
sport & pastme at Plymouth, where aft'r some dis- 
course with the Governor there they told him if they 
might not come with leave, they would without, upon 
wch ye sd. Governor sent thcire fl'latt i)ottomed Boat 
(wch was all they had) to Sale[m] for some powdr 
& shott : at wch time it was unanimously concluded by 
the Inhabitants of this towne. yt A small ffort shou[ldl 
bee made on the Top of this Towne Hill with Pallisatloes 
& fflanckers made out, wch v. as jKr formed at the direc- 
tion of Mr. Graves by all hands of men women & 
children who wrought at digging & building till the 
worlce was done: but yt designe <^f the Indians was 
sudenly broke up. by the report of ye great Ciinines at 

33 



Salem only shott of to cleare them, by [wch] mxeannes 
they were so ffrighted yt all theire Companies s[catt]ered 
& ranne away & tho they came flattering afterwds & 
called themselves o'r good ffriends, yett were wee con- 
strained by theire conspiracies yearely to be in Amies : 

" In ye months of June & July J(5i*p arrived at this 
Tovv'ne John Winthrop, Esq Governor Sr Richd Salton- 
stall Knt, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Dudly, Mr. Ludlow, Mr. 
Nowell, Mr. Pinch [on], Mr. Broadstreete who brought 
allong with them ye Charter, or Pattent for this Juris- 
diction of the Massachusetts Bay with whome also 
arrived Mr. John Wilson & Mr. Phillips Ministers, 
& A multitude of People amount to about fifteene hun- 
dred brought over from England in twelve ships, the 
Governor and sevll of ye Pattentees dwelt in the great 
house wch was last yeare built in this Towne by Mr. 
Graves & the rest of their servts. 

" The multitude sett up Cottages, Booths, and tents 
about the Towne Hill, they had long passage some of 
the ships were seventeene some eighteen weeks A coming, 
many peo[ple] arrived sick of the scurvey wch also 
encreased much af[ter] their arrival for want of houses 
& by reason of wett lodg[es] in theire Cottages & other 
distempers also prevailed, and altho' people were gen- 
erally very loveing & pittifull, yet the sicknesse did so 
prevaile yt the whole were not able to tend the sick as 
they should bee tended, upon wch many perished and 
dyed & were buryed about the Towne Hill by wch 
meannes provisions were exceedingly wasted & no sup- 

34 



plies co[uI]d now [bee] expected by planting, besides 
there was miserable damage [and] spoile of provisions 
by sea. 6i: divers came not so well pnjvided [as] tiiey 
would uixMi A rci)ort whilst ihcy wctc in ICngland yt 
now there was enough in New England & unto all this 
there were [those yt had indiscreetly sould much of 
the remaindr of theirc necessaries] to ye Indians f(jr 
Beaver, all wch l)eing taken into consideration by ye 
(Invcrnor & Gentlemen, they hired & dispatched away 
Mr. W'm. Pearce wth his ship of about two hundred 
tons f(^r Ireland to buy more. & in ye mean time went 
on with theire work for setting in order to wch they 
v,ih Mr. John Wilson, one of the ministrs did gatlir 
A Church and chose the sd Mr. Wilson. Pastour. tin- 
greatest number all this time intending nothing more 
than settling in this Towne for wch the Governor ordrd 
his house to be cutt and fram'd heere : But the weathr 
being hott many sicke. & others ffaint aftr theire long 
voyage people grew discontended for v. ant of water, 
who generally notioned no water good for A Towne 
but running springs, & tho this necke doe abound with 
good water yett for want of experience & Industry, none 
could then bee found to Suite the humor of that time 
but a brackish Spring in the Sands by the v.aterside on 
the west side of the X<Mthv.e.st field, wch could n-.t 
supply halfe of the necessities of ye multituile. at wch 
time the death of so many was concluded to bee much 
the mnro nrci i, .prl bv this want of good water. 



35 



" This caused severll to goe abroad upon discovery some 
went without the necke of this Towne who travelled up 
into the Maine till they came to A place well wattered 
whethr Sr. Richd Saltonstall Knt and Mr. Phillips min- 
istr went with severll othrs & setled A plantation & 
called it Wattertowne : Others went on the othr side 
of Charles River & there travelld up into the Country, 
& likewise finding good waters settled there with Mr. 
Ludlow & called the Plantation Dorchester whethr went 
Mr. Maverick & Mr. Warham v^ho were theire ministers. 

'' In ye meane time Mr. Blackstone dwelling on the 
othr side of Charles Rivr allone at A place by the In- 
dians called Shawmutt vi^here he only had a Cottage 
at or not ffarre of ye place called Blackstone's point 
hee came & acquainted ye Governor of an excellent 
Spring there, withall inviting him & sollicitcing him 
thithr where upon aftr the death of Mr. Johnson & 
divers others the Govirnor Mr. Wilson & the greatest 
part of the church removed thither, whethr also the 
frame of the Governors house in prparation at this 
Tov.'ue was (also to ye discontent of some) carryed, 
where peeople began to build theire houses agst Winter 
& this place was called Boston Affter these things Mr. 
Pinchin & severll othrs planted bettwixt Boston & Dor- 
chester well place was called Roxbury. 

" Now aftr all this the Indians Treachery being fered 
it was Judged meete the English should place theire 
Tov/nes as neare togethr as could [bee] for wch end 
Mr. Dudley & Mr. Broadstreete with some othrs went 

36 



& built (li planted bettweene Charlestown & W'aterton 
who called it Xcwtownc (wch was afterwards called 
Cambridge ; 

" Others issued out to A place between Charleslownc 
& Salem called Saugust (since ordrd to bee called Linn. 

" And thus by rcasim of discouragemnts & difficulties yt 
Strangers in A W'ildernessc at first meete withall, tho as 
to some things but supposed, as in this case people might 
have found water [abundant in] this Towne and needed 
not to have perished for want or wanted to (Hher places 
for reliefe would they but have looked after it: but this 
attended v/ith othr circumstances. The uisdome of God 
made use of as a meanes for spreading his Gospell, & peo- 
pling of this great & then terrible widlernesse, & this sud- 
den spreading into severll Townships came tobeeof ffarre 
better use for the entertainment of so manv hundreds 
of people yt came for severa[ll] years following hithr 
in such multitudes from most part[s] of Old England, 
than if they had now remained toget[her] in this Towne. 

" But after theire departure from this Towne. to the 
peop[le] & planting of the Townes afToresd & in particu- 
lar of the remooveall of the Governor & the greatest pt 
of o'r now gathered Church with the Pastour to Boston, 
the few Inhabitants of this Towne remaining were con- 
strained fo[r] three yeares after generally to goc to 
Boston on ye Lords Da[y] to hear the word (S: enjoy 
the sacramts before they could [bee) otherwise suppled." 



37 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 
TOWN GOVERNMENT OF CHARLESTOWN. 

''All ord'r made by the Inhabitants of Charlestowne At A 

full meeting for the Government of the 

Town by selectmen. 

" In consideration of the great trouble and chearg of 
the Inhabitants of Charlestowne, by reason of the frequent 
meeting of the Townsmen in Generall and yt by reason 
of many men meeting things were not so easily brought 
unto A joynt Issue, It is therefore agreed by the sayde 
Townsmen joyntly that these eleven men whose names 
are written one the other syde, w'th the advice of Pas- 
tor and Teacher, desired in any case of conscience, shall 
entreat of all such business as shall conscerne the Towns- 
men, the choice of officers excepted, and what they or 
the greater part of them shall conclude of the rest of 
the towne willingly to submit unto as their owne prper 
act, and these 11 to continue in this imployment for one 
yeare next ensuing the date hereof being dated this : 
10th. of February 1634. 

38 



" In wittncss of this agreement we whose names are 
under written have set o'r hands. 



William Learned 
Robt. Moulton 
William JohnsDii 
George \\ hiteliaiiJ 
William I'.akcr 
Robert Hale 
Nicholas Stowers 
George Bunker 
John Hall 
Wilm. Gnash 
Rice Coles 
Thomas Minor 
Richard Ketle 
Robert Blat 
Edward Sturgis 
George Felch 
Thomas Lincoln 
Anthony Eames 



John Greene 

Abra Mellows 

VVm. Frothingham 

Thomas Goblo 

Waller Pope (his mark) 

Richard Sprague 

James Pcmberton (his mark) 

Thomas Squire 
William Sprague 
Thomas Piearce 
Edward Johnes 
Rice Mauris 
Robeart Shorthos 
Geag. Hutchinson 
Richard Palgrave." 



The names of the eleven selected as first board of 
Selectmen were Increase Nowell, Esq.. Mr. Thomas 
Beecher. Edward Converse. Ezekiel Richardson, Walter 
Palmer, Ralph Sprague, William Brackenbury, Thomas 
Lynde. Mr. Abram Palmer. John Mousal and Robert 
Moulton. 



39 









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.EMy'l 



THE 

FOUNDING OF CHARLP:STOWN 

BY THE SPRAGUES 

A GLIMPSE OF THE BEGINNING 

OF THE 
MASSACHUSETTS BAY SETTLEMENT 



BY 

HENRY H. SPRAGUE 



BOSTON 

WILLIAM B. CLARKE CO. 

191O 



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